Conventionally proposed on-line software includes software for displaying rates of pCR (Pathological Complete Remission) of early-stage cancers in response to inputs of drug administration procedures for the cancer patients (See NPL1). Here, pCR means a state in which cancer has disappeared almost completely.
However, such software does not propose any drug administration method according to each of types of cancer. For example, breast cancer is roughly classified into four types based on, for example, amounts of protein included in cancer cells. Reactions to the same drug administration vary depending on these cancer types.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a conventional drug administration method in preoperative chemotherapy for operable primary breast cancer. The diagram shows a conventionally used regimen (hereinafter referred to as “a JBCRG (Japan Breast Cancer Research Group) 01 trial”) indicating firstly performing a cycle (A) for administrating FEC (F:5 fluorouracil in units of 500 mg/m(2), E: epirubicin in units of 100 mg/m(2), and C: cyclophosphamide in units of 500 mg/m(2)) four times every three weeks from six months before an operation, and secondly performing a cycle (B) for administrating docetaxel four times every three weeks in sequence to the cycle (A).
Breast cancer is classified into four types as mentioned above, specifically based on combinations of whether ER (an Estrogen Receptor) is positive or negative and whether Her2 (Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor-2) is positive or negative. Accordingly, pCR values obtained in the JBCRG01 trial are different depending on the types. Hereinafter, “+” denotes positive, and “−” denotes negative. For example, the JBCRG01 trial showed that a high pCR was obtained when the ER/Her2 was (−/+), and a low pCR was obtained when the ER/Her2 was (+/+).
Each of the ER/Her2-(+/+) type and the ER/Her2-(+/−) type has a low pCR in the JBCRG01 trial, but hormonotherapy and radiotherapy other than the operative chemotherapy are available as therapies effective to the types. In contrast, no effective therapy has been found for the ER/Her2-(−/−) type.
Patent Reference 1
Adjuvant! Online; Decision making tools for health care professionals (http://www.adjuvantonline.com/index.jsp)